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DALLAS — The coach said it. The players said it. For Misericordia, this was it.
The Cougars had burned the ships. They didn’t declare for a possible trip to an ECAC tournament. And there wasn’t going to be a chance at an at-large bid into the NCAA bracket.
No going back. On Saturday, it was either win the league title or end the season.
They responded with one of their best efforts of the year.
The Cougars dusted off Delaware Valley 77-66 at the Anderson Center for their second Freedom Conference championship in four years.
“This was it,” Misericordia coach Trevor Woodruff said. “We made that statement collectively. The kids made the decision, and I was with them 100 percent. It was all the way or nothing. We didn’t even want there to be a backup plan.
“That definitely tells you their mentality. There was some unfinished business from last year. And we have some gutsy, tough seniors who wanted to get back here. And they did. They made it.”
Onward they go, shaking off the memory of last year’s overtime loss to DeSales in the Freedom finals.
The Cougars will learn the details of their first round NCAA tournament matchup on Monday when the brackets are unveiled. Misericordia lost its opener to NYU after winning the league title in 2012, the Cougars’ only other NCAA appearance.
Two players from that 2012 squad — Joe Busacca and Steve Ware — are senior starters now. And once again, they fueled a Cougars’ victory.
A day after being named Freedom Conference Player of the Year, Busacca backed it up by winning tournament MVP honors, scoring 29 points to give him 55 over the two games.
“If there were any naysayers,” Woodruff said, “I think today he made an exclamation point.”
“I was just coming out here to play. I wanted to have fun,” Busacca said with a laugh. “I didn’t want this to be my last time on the court. I didn’t want this to be the last game I played with these guys.
“This was it. This is what you come here for.”
Ware, a first-team All-Freedom selection along with Busacca, turned in his fourth straight double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, adding three assists and three blocks. For the tournament, Ware finished with 31 points and 29 rebounds.
Sophomore James Hawk chipped in eight points, eight boards and six blocks on Saturday to help the Cougars (21-6) beat the Aggies for the third time this season.
Unlike the first two meetings, however, this one didn’t come down to the wire.
Misericordia never trailed. The Cougars led 40-29 at halftime and never let the Aggies get closer than nine points in the second half.
“We were kind of like a deer in headlights a little bit to start the game off,” Aggies coach Casey Stitzel said. “I don’t know if it was being on the road or the moment being so big. We did not have the same approach to the first half that we did (in Wednesday’s semifinal win over DeSales).
“At halftime, we challenged a bunch of guys and I thought we came out and played a lot harder. I think we came out and played a lot smarter, trying to get the pace a little frantic. And we just didn’t make any shots.”
No they didn’t. The Aggies (16-11) missed on their first 11 tries from behind the arc in the second half, stunting their chance at a comeback.
Misericordia, among the national leaders in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense all year, held Delaware Valley to 33.8 percent shooting. Senior guard Francis Arnold (30 points) was the only player in double figures for the Aggies.
Each time Delaware Valley scored, Misericordia answered. The Aggies only managed to put together two straight buckets once after halftime.
No big run. No drama. No heartburn. Just bring out the ladder and cut down the net.
“We have not pulled away from many people this year,” Woodruff said. “So to do it in this game, against a quality team like that, I think we’re playing our best ball.
“Perfect day. Perfect day to do it.”
Freedom Conference championship
Misericordia 77, Delaware Valley 66
DELAWARE VALLEY (66) — Nick Sullivan 1-5 0-0 3, Francis Arnold 8-19 12-16 30, Zach Sly 2-8 0-0 4, Chris Moran 4-13 0-0 8, Manny Ochenje 3-8 2-3 8, Nate Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Adonis Fleming 0-0 0-0 0, Barry Brockington 2-5 0-0 5, Jose Ortiz 2-4 1-2 5, Zach Sibel 0-0 0-0 0, Jay Donovan 1-6 0-0 3. Totals 23-68 15-21 66.
MISERICORDIA (77) — Joe Busacca 9-21 10-13 29, Jamie Egan 2-7 1-2 6, Griffin Sponaugle 1-6 3-5 6, Steve Ware 5-13 4-5 14, James Hawk 4-6 0-0 8, Jesse Urich 0-2 8-8 8, Michael Brunson 0-0 0-0 0, Patrick Widdoss 0-0 0-0 0, Erik Kerns 3-8 0-0 6. Totals 24-63 26-33 77.
Halftime — Misericordia, 40-29
Three-point goals — DVC 5-21 (Arnold 2-9, Brockington 1-2, Sullivan 1-4, Donovan 1-4, Sly 0-1, Moran 0-1); MU 3-14 (Egan 1-3, Busacca 1-5, Sponaugle 1-5, Urich 0-1)